"Sugar Town" is a song written by songwriter-producer

Lee Hazlewood Barton Lee Hazlewood (July 9, 1929 – August 4, 2007) was an American country and pop singer, songwriter, and record producer, most widely known for his work with guitarist Duane Eddy during the late 1950s and singer Nancy Sinatra in the 1960s ...

and first recorded by American singer

Nancy Sinatra Nancy Sandra Sinatra (born June 8, 1940) is an American singer, actress, film producer and author. She is the elder daughter of Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra ( Barbato) and is known for her 1965 signature hit " These Boots Are Made for Walki ...

in 1966. As a single released under the Reprise label, it peaked at number five on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in December 1966, while reaching number one on the

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit s ...

chart in January 1967. It became a

gold record Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

. The song was included on Nancy Sinatra's LP, ''Sugar'', also released in 1966, and was featured in her

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

TV special '' Movin' with Nancy'', released on home video in 2000.

Background

The song is an allusion to

sugar cube Sugar cubes are white sugar granules pressed into small cubes measuring approximately 1 teaspoon each. They are usually used for sweetening drinks such as tea and coffee. They were invented in the early 19th century in response to the difficulti ...

s laced with

Lysergic acid diethylamide Lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly known as LSD (from German ; often referred to as acid or lucy), is a Semisynthesis, semisynthetic, Hallucinogen, hallucinogenic compound derived from ergot, known for its powerful psychological effects and ...

(LSD) although, like other songs Hazlewood wrote, "Sugar Town" was equivocal, speaking to a young audience able to recognize its allusion, yet outwardly tame enough to receive radio play. Hazlewood denied that he had ever used LSD, or regularly partaken in drugs in general. He explained: The

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

to "Sugar Town" was " Summer Wine", a popular

duet A duet (italian language, Italian: ''duo'') is a musical composition for two Performing arts, performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a har ...

also written by Hazlewood, and featuring Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra.

Personnel

According to the AFM contract sheet, the following musicians played on the track. *

Billy Strange William Everett Strange (September 29, 1930 – February 22, 2012) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, guitarist, and actor. He began as a session musician with The Wrecking Crew, a famous session band of the 1960s and 1970s, and was i ...

– listed as session leader * Don Lanier – listed as session conductor * Roy Caton * Ollie Mitchell *

Don Randi Don Randi (born February 25, 1937) is an American keyboard player, bandleader, and songwriter who was a member of the Wrecking Crew. He's the father of bassist / singer Leah Randi. Career Don was born February 25, 1937, in New York City. He wa ...

Carol Kaye Carol Kaye (née Smith; born March 24, 1935) is an American musician. She is one of the most prolific recorded bass guitarists in rock and pop music, playing on an estimated 10,000 recordings in a career spanning over 65 years. Kaye began play ...

Don Bagley Donald Neff Bagley (July 18, 1927 – July 26, 2012) was an American jazz bassist. Career Bagley was born on July 18, 1927, in Salt Lake City, Utah. He received formal training on the double bass. He studied in Los Angeles and played in 1945 ...

*Lou Morell * Al Casey *

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American country musician and actor. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting ''The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour'' on CBS television from ...

*Gary Coleman *

Hal Blaine Hal Blaine (born Harold Simon Belsky; February 5, 1929 – March 11, 2019) was an American drummer and session musician, thought to be among the most recorded studio drummers in the music industry, claiming over 35,000 sessions and 6,000 singles. ...

Cover versions

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

artist

Nancy Sit Nancy Sit Ka-yin ( zh, 薛家燕; born 30 March 1950) is a Hong Kong actress on the TVB network. Her acting career dated back to the 1960s, when she was a popular teen idol alongside Connie Chan Po-chu, and Josephine Siao. Sit recorded many ...

covered the song, released as a single by Crane Brand Records in 1967.

Zooey Deschanel Zooey Claire Deschanel ( ; born January 17, 1980) is an American actress and musician. She made her film debut in ''Mumford (film), Mumford'' (1999) and had a supporting role in Cameron Crowe's film ''Almost Famous'' (2000). Deschanel is known f ...

covered the song in the 2009 film ''

500 Days of Summer ''(500) Days of Summer'' is a 2009 American romantic comedy film directed by Marc Webb, written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, and produced by Mark Waters. The film stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel as Tom and Summer re ...

.'' Swedish band Shitkid covered the song on the 2017 album ''Fish''. In 2022, Mariano Garcia released an adaptation of this song as a single with the name "Tucumán". The lyrics allude to the province of Tucumán, Argentina, where the music video was shot.

References

{{Authority control 1966 singles 1967 singles Nancy Sinatra songs Songs written by Lee Hazlewood 1966 songs Reprise Records singles Songs about drugs Lysergic acid diethylamide The Selecter songs

Background

Personnel

Cover versions

See also

References